2018 draft

[KB21]

How can a guy with Ayton's talent level be such a bad defender?  People want this guy to be Joel Embiid, and he's nowhere near that at this point.

[Guard]

 

[Guard]

https://www.thestepien.com/2017/12/01/mikal-bridges-kawhi-leonard-ncaa-basketball/

[NBASupes]

19 hours ago, KB21 said:

How can a guy with Ayton's talent level be such a bad defender?  People want this guy to be Joel Embiid, and he's nowhere near that at this point.

You must not watch freshman bigs often?

[KB21]

7 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

You must not watch freshman bigs often?

I watched Embiid when he was a freshman.  Much better rim protector than Ayton, and he was also a more physical player.  I had Embiid as the top overall prospect in the 2014 draft.

The thing with Ayton is, he has shown the ability to defend in switch situations.  He can stay in front of anyone.  This tells me that his poor defense overall, especially his poor rim protection for a guy his size, is mostly effort driven with some element of lack of situational awareness.  

[DBac]

45 minutes ago, Guard said:

https://www.thestepien.com/2017/12/01/mikal-bridges-kawhi-leonard-ncaa-basketball/

We've gotta trade up for this guy. A super role player hiding in plain sight.

[DBac]

Ayton looked incredibly fluid in that vid.

That Arizona team is just so bad defensively. Everybody is bad, not even just Ayton but a good defensive big man can cover for a lot. If he improves his defense to the point where he can be safely projected as a '+' defender then he will solidly be a top 2 and arguably top 1 prospect in this class.

[Lurker]

I think the cat is out of the bag to be honest on Mikal Bridges. 

[KB21]

21 minutes ago, DBac said:

Ayton looked incredibly fluid in that vid.

That Arizona team is just so bad defensively. Everybody is bad, not even just Ayton but a good defensive big man can cover for a lot. If he improves his defense to the point where he can be safely projected as a '+' defender then he will solidly be a top 2 and arguably top 1 prospect in this class.

He is really the only guy that can potentially challenge Doncic for #1 overall, but he's got to be a two way player to do it.  

[NBASupes]

43 minutes ago, KB21 said:

He is really the only guy that can potentially challenge Doncic for #1 overall, but he's got to be a two way player to do it.  

You and that Doncic guy again. 

[NBASupes]

2 hours ago, KB21 said:

I watched Embiid when he was a freshman.  Much better rim protector than Ayton, and he was also a more physical player.  I had Embiid as the top overall prospect in the 2014 draft.

The thing with Ayton is, he has shown the ability to defend in switch situations.  He can stay in front of anyone.  This tells me that his poor defense overall, especially his poor rim protection for a guy his size, is mostly effort driven with some element of lack of situational awareness.  

Embiid was a better defensive player as a freshman but he wasn't without flaws. His PnR defense left a lot to be desired at that time and his defensive intensity outside of the paint was a WIP. That being said, a healthy Embiid was a better talent than Ayton but Ayton is overall more advanced at this stage. A lot of nuances Embiid just didn't know at that time that Ayton does. 

 

I think it has more to do with being used correctly. Miller is trying to figure out how to use him defensively. Right now, Ayton is a better man defender than Embiid was as a freshman. If I remember right, Embiid wasn't even a starter until December or maybe even Jan. 

[Jody23]

I'm still not counting out Porter Jr. and the Hawks better not either should they be in a position to draft him.  Yes, he sustained an injury.  But that doesn't automatically erase the talent he has and it doesn't mean he won't fully recover.  The Hawks better do all their homework on these potential draftees.

[CP61]

59 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

I'm still not counting out Porter Jr. and the Hawks better not either should they be in a position to draft him.  Yes, he sustained an injury.  But that doesn't automatically erase the talent he has and it doesn't mean he won't fully recover.  The Hawks better do all their homework on these potential draftees.

He’s definitely the riskiest pick out of the top 4 now, but I’d still be happy with him at 4. He’s better than Bamba. Really I could get behind him at any pick because there’s good upside there, but he’s not my favorite.

 

wait hold up... I just looked up his high school stats and it says he shot 70% from three last year in high school. I know it’s shorter than in college, but that can’t be normal. In all of the high school all star stuff and U18 stuff he shot like 30% though. 

Edited December 4, 2017 by CP61

[Jody23]

20 minutes ago, CP61 said:

He’s definitely the riskiest pick out of the top 4 now, but I’d still be happy with him at 4. He’s better than Bamba. Really I could get behind him at any pick because there’s good upside there, but he’s not my favorite.

 

wait hold up... I just looked up his high school stats and it says he shot 70% from three last year in high school. I know it’s shorter than in college, but that can’t be normal. In all of the high school all star stuff and U18 stuff he shot like 30% though. 

I agree there are risks with Porter Jr. and I'm not saying he should be the pick  if available, but there are risks associated with all of these guys.  That's why the Hawks and other teams will need to consider all factors.  It won't be an easy decision, but I try not to get too bogged down in what a guy is or isn't doing right now.  The goal should be to try and get the best player long term.

[KB21]

32 minutes ago, CP61 said:

He’s definitely the riskiest pick out of the top 4 now, but I’d still be happy with him at 4. He’s better than Bamba. Really I could get behind him at any pick because there’s good upside there, but he’s not my favorite.

 

wait hold up... I just looked up his high school stats and it says he shot 70% from three last year in high school. I know it’s shorter than in college, but that can’t be normal. In all of the high school all star stuff and U18 stuff he shot like 30% though. 

Is he really better though?  The only things you can really take from his AAU and high school film is that he is a tremendous vertical leaper and fluid athletically, and he can shoot over defenders, most of whom are significantly shorter than he is.

Can he pass on the move?  Can he handle the ball off the PNR?  Can he defend at a high level?  

He can shoot from distance, and he has a tremendous pull up game.  However, I've seen him struggle to beat his man off the dribble in half court sets on his AAU and HS film.  I think he's a guy that you will have to run him off screens and pin downs to give him the space to get his jumper off.  

Ultimately, I think he's a stretch four, because I don't see the floor game to make me believe he can play on the wing.  I'd be really concerned about his defense as a four though.

Edited December 4, 2017 by KB21

[CP61]

2 hours ago, KB21 said:

Is he really better though?  The only things you can really take from his AAU and high school film is that he is a tremendous vertical leaper and fluid athletically, and he can shoot over defenders, most of whom are significantly shorter than he is.

Can he pass on the move?  Can he handle the ball off the PNR?  Can he defend at a high level?  

He can shoot from distance, and he has a tremendous pull up game.  However, I've seen him struggle to beat his man off the dribble in half court sets on his AAU and HS film.  I think he's a guy that you will have to run him off screens and pin downs to give him the space to get his jumper off.  

Ultimately, I think he's a stretch four, because I don't see the floor game to make me believe he can play on the wing.  I'd be really concerned about his defense as a four though.

He’s definitely a stretch 4. I’ll admit I’ve only watched like 2 games of his and his highlights, so I’m not too informed. He’s the guy I wanted to see play in college the most 

[NBASupes]

Bamba has the lower floor, but his potential in the NBA is the highest. I seen this said when KP was in the draft, lowest floor. Okafor, Russell, Towns and Winslow is better right now. Fast forward three seasons and well, we see who's the best player. 

[KB21]

https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz/status/937739105814773761

This kid would be an absolute monster in Bud's offense.

[CP61]

48 minutes ago, KB21 said:

https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz/status/937739105814773761

This kid would be an absolute monster in Bud's offense.

I wish his 3 point shooting percentage was better. He’s regressed back to his average after a hit start. I was hoping he had progressed to be a great shooter. I think his superstar potential hinges on being great at shooting. I have no doubts he will be very good no matter what though.

Edited December 5, 2017 by CP61

[NBASupes]

30 minutes ago, CP61 said:

I wish his 3 point shooting percentage was better. He’s regressed back to his average after a hit start. I was hoping he had progressed to be a great shooter. I think his superstar potential hinges on being great at shooting. I have no doubts he will be very good no matter what though.

I don't see a superstar in his game but I agree, his shooting percentages have slumped of late as well as his team W/L. That said, he's been what he is. An offense dynamo. Someone that will make a NBA franchise happy for many years. That's the thing about this top 5, I have never seen one so good before.